Resident Evil: Memories From a City Lost
by One Fateful Mourning
Summary: It's been almost a year since Special Agent Leon S. Kennedy survived the horrors of the Los Illuminados Incident. After finally regaining some aspect of normality, Leon is throw back into hell on Earth...The ruins of Raccoon City.


**Resident Evil: Memories From a City Lost**

**Chapter 1: What Will Last a Lifetime**

**_April 5th, 2004-The White House_**

_Where am I…Why am I here…Wait…Who am I…What…What is this feeling…AGHHHH! Pain…In my chest…Make it…Stop…What…**WHAT AM I!**_

"_WHAT AM I?"_

Special Agent Leon S. Kennedy threw himself from his bed, landing on the floor in a heap of damp bed sheets. His breath was ragged, his chest heaving, eyes wide and bloodshot. _You're losing your mind, Kennedy… _

Running a hand through his pale blond hair, Leon sighed deeply, pushing himself wearily off the floor. In the eight months since the Los Illuminados incident, he'd barely ever managed to get a decent night's sleep. The one time he had, he'd woken to find the First Daughter Ashley Graham lying next to him. It shocked him so much he almost preferred the nightmares.

Gathering up the sheets, he tossed them back on the bed and went to his closet. Pulling free a dark T-shirt, a pair of pants, and a wool-lined leather jacket, he got dressed, sneaking a look at the clock on the nearby table. _3:11 A.M. Rise and shine Leon…_ His shoulders sagged in defeat. As was his custom since his return from Spain, his 9mm, a sleek Blacktail handgun, hung from a leg holster on the inside of his closet door. Strapping it on, he pulled free his Survival Knife, flipped it through his fingers a few times, and then slid it home in its shoulder sheath.

Leaving the room, pausing only to electronically lock it behind him, he pushed his hands deep into his pockets, trying not to think about the horrors he'd recently been through. Of course, as are the nature of such things, the harder you try to not dwell on something, the more of it you remember. So it was with this. Patches of memory flashed in Leon's mind, the two Policia who died minutes after his arrival; His fight with the giant Del Lago; Meeting Ashley for the first time in the old Church; The cultist monks; The demonic Osmund Saddler, caught in the throes of death after Ada threw him a rocket launcher.

_Ada…_

If there was anything in the world he wished he could forget more then Raccoon City or Los Illuminados, it was Ada Wong. Not because he hated her, no. Far from it. Even though it had taken him years to figure it out, he finally understand that he was deeply, madly, even, in love with her… And the fact that he'd never get to tell her, kiss her, or share any part of his life with her hurt him more then any mortal wound ever could.

Since her reappearance in Spain, Leon hadn't talked to her, much less seen her, at all. He sometimes got a feeling that someone was watching him, but he'd never managed to see who it was. He knew it was her, though, and he hated her for it, he hated her for leaving him in Raccoon City, for teaming up with Wesker…So many things that should have prevented him from caring that she was even alive, much less love her…But he couldn't help himself. Love was hardly ever fair.

_Later that day…_

"Mr. Kennedy, the President will see you now."

Leon rose from the chair he'd been seated in for the better part of an hour and followed the young aide to the Oval Office. President Graham, looking younger then his forty-eight years, bade him to sit. Leon, aside from having quite enough of sitting, did so.

"You wanted to see me, Mr. President?"

"Yes, Mr. Kennedy. Leon; May I call you Leon?" Leon nodded, wondering if anyone had ever refused such an offer from the President of the United States. "We have a situation, and you're the only one who can help."

Leon felt a twinge of fear as realization hit him like lightning. Whatever the President was about to say, it had to involve either Raccoon City and Albert Wesker, or the Los Illuminados incident. More then likely the latter, but if there were still qualms about Raccoon…

"You are the only one with any manner of intel on the Los Illuminados and what happened in Spain. We've read the report, including the portion about this 'Sample'."

_But Ada has the sample…_His heart began to pound. If he was right, and he was seldom wrong, the President wanted the sample. To find the sample, he would need to find Ada. To find Ada, he would need to find...

"Wesker."

Graham raised an eyebrow, but continued on. "Yes, son. We need you to track down Albert Wesker and retrieve that sample. By any means necessary."

_Track down Wesker? But he could be anywhere…And he's not stupid, any attempt to find him, and he'll just vanish…_

"Sir, with all due respect, it's an impossible mission. There's no way in the world to even _find_ Wesker, let alone-"

Graham silenced him with a wave of his hand, and a small screen rose from the corner of his desk. Spinning it around, Leon was confronted with a detailed file on one Albert Wesker, including something that made Leon want to both destroy the console and vomit at the same time.

"Mr. President-" Leon resisted the urge to bring back up the eggs and bacon he'd had that morning- "Is this report true? More importantly, how did you even _get this information?_"

"That's not important. What is important, is that Wesker is a dangerous man and holds in his grasp something that could, potentially, destroy this country. We _NEED_ to find and get it back."

_You're damn right, but what does this have to do with me…_

Steeling himself, Leon took a deep breath, knowing the answer but forcing the question out anyway.

"What do you want me to do, Mr. President?"

Leaning back in his chair, Graham put his hands together, lips pursed. "I want you to go back, Leon. You're the only one accessible that has any knowledge of what happened six years ago, and more importantly, you _survived._ You survived on wits and guts alone, twice, now. There's no better man for the job."

"Yes, but sir, I had help… I had S.T.A.R.S. and Claire back in Raccoon, and in Spain, Ada…" Leon stopped, eyebrows furrowing at the thought of the two women he loved. God he missed Claire, but it was her choice to leave him and Sherry, her choice to leave the family they'd made. It hurt him still to this day, but…He knew now he'd moved on. He had loved Claire with a passion he couldn't even describe, but he loved Ada just as much, if not more. He knew this. Only question was, would she ever know it…

"Leon, after all you've been through, you think I'd send you in this alone? God no, you're going to have help. I'm sending you a team of the best soldiers from every aspect of the American Armed Forces. Unfortunately, a three-man team, well, two man one woman team, is all you're going to get. Too much chance of you being spotted. On top of that, you're going to have access to air support at any time. This is serious, Agent Kennedy. I'm not going to force you to do this, but the success rate of the mission if you decline becomes…Almost zero."

_Some choice, Mr. President. _Leon let out a laugh under his breath, all the while he could feel himself go numb. "I don't have a choice, Mr. President. I can't let a team go in blind and get killed. Who knows what survived there? I'm the only one with knowledge of what's left of the area. And aside from that… Wesker's got a lot to answer for, to a lot more people then me. But hey, if I'm the only one around...I'll ask the questions for them. I'll take the mission, sir. But after this… I'm done. I want the chance to live a normal life. If you'll forgive me for saying so, I think I've earned that much."

President Graham raised an eyebrow. "You got a lot of nerve, Kennedy. I like that. As you wish. If you make it back with the sample, you'll have your normal life. I give you my word."

_Emphasis on 'if'._

"Well then, how long do I have to prep before take-off, sir?"

"Better get your gear together quick and get some rest, Agent Kennedy. Tomorrow morning at 0800 you lift off."

"For the ruins of Raccoon City."


End file.
